Open Warehouse

[pikolinianita]

You still can do this now - just advertise a bulk rate, and send the rebate back to whoever uses it. It takes a bit of player work, sure, but I don't think it worth the dev time to add this feature that can be done so easily by the handful of players likely to use it. Just my view, anyway.

But how Advertise? I'd like to see few lines of text available to owner on top of emporium. Not all players read foruma and such.

[Rexx Shredd]

I'm sorry, but I think the Player Market is safer.

I come from a country where market manipulation has been an ongoing problem. If you base prices on GBM average, the problem is that GBM prices vary by quite a lot. Look at Flux Gas. If you do a GBM contract with the price recommended by Joes, people try to buy it for about 200cr each. However, as rare as it is, people will sometimes sell it to someone they know for 500cr, but usually sell it for 1000cr. So, the average is driven down compared to demand cost.

This is the problem with using an automatic average. Say, on the Open Market, someone is selling 1000 units of Rexx Fan Mail that you need to build a Rexx Emporium for your settlement. They are selling the Mail for 1000 cr each, which is the average GBM price. However, you have a brilliant idea. You mail me off-line. We arrange a time where we both watch the GBM, and you watch the Open Market. You already have 500 units of Rexx Fan Mail. I open a contract to buy 500 units for 1cr each. You fill that contract. You then open a contract for 500 units for 1cr each, which I fill. You have your original goods back. I have my credits back. Our sale has just driven down the average sale price of Rexx Fan Mail. Before the seller on the Open Market snatches his goods off because the price just plummeted, you buy the 1000 units of Rexx Fan Mail for a significantly lowered price.

I know I can't speak for Coops and the system people, but I could understand them not wanting to take on the responsibility of keeping such a market "honest". There are some games like EVE where people applaud your creativity if you set op a pyramid scheme or other marketing fraud. Coops has cultivated a very different community in CE, and while I have no problems with corporate cut-throat games, I play CE.

You have cleverly uncovered a potential exploit in this game -- Do you realize the amount of yearning-hearted people that would go to desperate attempts just to be able to have a glimpse Rexx Fan Mail? Egad --

[Shinter]

But how Advertise? I'd like to see few lines of text available to owner on top of emporium. Not all players read foruma and such.

If people aren't going to use the systems already in place (Forums, Buy/Sell Ads, etc), what makes you think they'll use any new ones we add? Even having some lines at the top of your emporium is assuming people are going to your emporium to shop around. If you want to offer special deals, it is likely as a way to get people to come and shop around, so your target audience won't ever see that bit of advertisement either. I don't really see how adding more ways for you to advertise is going to change anything about who sees your advertisement.

I'd also say we need to be encouraging people to visit the forums - so those who do get your special bulk rates, and others just miss out. Might encourage them to see more of whats going on in the game they play, as the Forums are pretty integral to the workings of CE.

[sirfoxey]

+1 with Shinter